Mysteries of the Arcane
by JackDante
Summary: Andreas Talon, a halfshadowdragon, embarks on a voyage of discovery to find the true nature of his magical power. His adventures will reveal to him the many and varied nature of the magic of Faerun.


(I suppose all roleplay characters are Mary Sues and Gary Stus in some way. Ah, well; here's mine. Andreas Talon, the half-shadow-dragon sorceror, who is adopted and raised by a mercenary company in Turmish until the fateful day his magical powers emerge. He receives a dream-vision which prompts him to travel to the Stone Lands, where he meets up with an interesting group of individuals, all practitioners of the arcane arts. Talon's adventure is a voyage of discovery; he is unused to using magic, having relied only on his sword previously. Whether he is destined to be a part of something much greater, only time itself will tell...)

-----------------------------------------------------------

An Extract From The Journal Of Andreas Talon, 1272

-----------------------------------------------------------

The others are sleeping as I write this. On second thoughts, perhaps 'sleeping' is not an accurate term; the elf has been in his meditative trance for the past two turns of the water-clock, and the cat-creature is making noises which can only be described as 'purring'. It would not surprise me if she is not resting at all, but merely faking sleep as a means to observing me in that curious way which cats do. I shall have to take care that she does not wrap herself around my legs to try and trip me up when morning comes; twice today I have had to remove bright pink ribbons from my horns. I am left in no doubt as to the identitiy of the culprit.

Strange as my companions may sound, the manner of our meeting was stranger still. We first met in some kind of dream-vision, inhabiting the bodies of several mortals some ten years past; although we were able to speak and think for ourselves, the humans we were 'possessing' (for want of a better term) were walking a pre-determined path, shaping the culmination of the Time of Troubles when the gods themselves walked the Material Plane. It soon became clear that I was not alone in this situation, for Adon claimed he was, in truth, an elf; and Cyric, much to our relief, was a marble-skinned human who believed himself to be on some sort of test, a rite of passage for his people. I played the part of Kelemvor, apparently a lover of the mortal Mystra. Cyric was there also, as was a priest of Sune named Adon, and Midnight, who later rose to godhood as the Lady of Mysteries. Somehow the artifacts known as the Tablets of Fate were involved, and we watched from behind the eyes of our counterparts as we travelled through the village of Tilverton, so that one such Tablet of Fate could be placed inside a warlock's crypt in an area known as the Stone Lands.

(Later, I was to discover the fates of these individuals in more detail. It remains to be seen whether Adon of Mystra - previously of Sune - still resides in Waterdeep.)

When a candle is set aflame to light one's way, it would be sheer folly to step off the path. Who am I to ignore the words of a deity? Having received this curious vision, I would make my way to wherever this Tilverton was, and see if the vision proved to besome kind of sign. First, I travelled to Nonthal, and spoke to those who knew more of Faerun than my limited knowledge would allow; my path lay to the north-west. This done, I headed onwards to Alaghon and secured passage to that cold and unfamiliar part of the world.

The Stone Lands themselves proved to be barren and unforgiving. It was two days' travel from the nearest village to the warlock's crypt, around which had been set up a sprawl of tents and stalls, the makeshift streets heaving with all manner of creatures and spellcasters. Half-orcs vied for space with hulking ogres, gaunt halflings scurried deftly away from hulking scaled beings, elves stepped politely aside for entourages of dour dwarves; it later transpired that the area was a neutral zone set within an antimagic aura. This would explain why many of the creatures were not at each others' throats, although it didn't stop them from trying.

The crypt itself was guarded by a magnificent winged man flanked by two clockwork beings; I would be allowed entrance to the tomb, but I had to be allocated a time and wait for my turn. No sooner had I discovered this than I was approached by a marble-skinned human who asked if I was Kelemvor. At this, I I couldn't resist a roar of laughter, for the whole situation amused me - here I was, having travelled halfway across the known world on a whim, being asked if I was a human mortal who had ascended to godhood. Of course, the question made sense to me nonetheless, and it soon transpired that the marble-skinned man had played the part of Cyric, leaving us waiting for the elf-Adon who would no doubt arrive in due course.

We were not kept waiting long. Although several elves came and went as we waited, one came over to us and introduced himself as the once-cleric of Sune (I suppose that I stand out in a crowd and, having told the others whilst we had been in the vision that I was a half-dragon, my presence was no surprise.) What happened next was rather unexpected, however. I was attacked from behind by a very unusual cat-like creature who seemed to be challenging me to a duel. I turned her down, for it was neither the time nor the place for combat; it did transpire, though, that she was aware of our vision-dream, and Mystra had sent her to us to be our guide and travelling companion. I am still unaware of her true nature. The only logical conclusion that I can draw is that she is some kind of magical beast, perhaps created by an insane wizard; maybe she is a manifestation of Mystra herself. Either way, I find her temperament far too chaotic to justify her existence as a celestial of the lawful planes.

It was there, by the crypt of this ancient warlock, that we introduced ourselves properly and were able to see who we all truly were. Firstly, the marble-skinned human introduced himself as Umayatin, whose people appear to have retreated and adapted to life far underground. I find it intriguing that humans are able to survive without sunlight, but his continuing awe at such mundane things as birds, grass and even the sky itself indicates that centuries of separation have resulted in a race as removed from 'normal' humans as I am from true dragonkind.

The elf was Coinache, a well-dressed individual with a penchant for hair-care and fine clothes. (In my opinion, he can be a little too flamboyant at times; my first impression of him was of a dandy who believed himself to be on an entertaining outing, perhaps a nobles' picnic. Maybe his outlook will change after a tenday on the road with little more to eat than what we can hunt along the way.) Soon after meeting, we engaged in several games of cards. His fervent enthusiasm for chance leaves me slightly unsettled at times – I prefer to place my trust in the solid and reliable – but his company is entertaining, and his conversation pleasingly intellectual.

Finally, the cat-lady - with much amusement, and inbetween fits of giggles - made her presence more formally known. When quizzed as to what she actually _is_, she simply replied 'Cheshire!' and gave an elegant flutter of her opalescent wings; as I have mentioned before, due to her role in the dream-vision, I believe her to be some kind of emissary from Mystra herself. It remains to be seen whether her messages will become any less cryptic.

Having made ourselves known to each other – and thus inspiring feelings of mutual trust at some level – we decided that it would suit us all to set up camp together. After searching for a suitable spot, we settled on a cramped area near to the crypt itself (and thus near to the feathery-winged being and his construct guards) but not before an unpleasant individual named Shaz mocked us for our apparent incompetence. We needed to register as a group before we could enter the crypt, and promptly did so, calling our group 'The C Party' at the insistence of the cat-lady (I can only surmise that the C stands for 'Cheshire', for 'Cat', or possibly even 'Chrysalis' having seen her wings, which resemble those of a butterfly or moth.)

It was also at this time that we took a closer look at the other beings assembled by the crypt and its surrounding stalls. As we conversed with some of them, we found out that the four of us had not been the only ones taking part in Mystra's dream-vision; all of those present, from the kobolds to the priest of Mystra herself, had experienced a similar such dream and had travelled here to discover the secrets of the warlock's tomb for themselves (and perhaps discover the long-lost Tablet of Fate for their own ends.) At this point, I was forced to speculate that the following trial was some kind of test set by the Lady of Mysteries to judge those who spun enchantments from her Weave; why we had been chosen to compete against those with such obvious power was, at this point, beyond comprehension. Indeed, I had barely cast a spell in my life, coming to terms as I was with my newfound sorcerous abilities.

It was at this point that a disagreement occurred between a large ogre-like creature and a group of dwarves. The great brute, although being restrained by his chained followers, was advancing on the dwarves with a look of rage - the dwarves responded in kind with defiant words and more than a few tugs on their splendid beards. The crypt guardian, however - the winged man of which I have now made mention of several times - was not content with this, and stepped in to break up the fight, thus re-establishing the area as neutral ground.

And this was not the only sign of tension amongst the various participants. As we stood by the crypt, some kind of rift appeared in the air itself (a portal, I am told, never having witnessed such a thing) from which stepped a small band of creatures – grimlocks, Umayatin informed us – followed by a grotesque, floating monstrosity, an Eye Tyrant, which was none too pleased at being told to wait in line to enter the crypt. A scuffle followed during which the winged being sliced several of the Eye Tyrant's stalks from its body, forcing it to retreat. It is rather disturbing watching a large floating eyeball having a sulk.

This did, however, give us some ideas. Having offended a kobold earlier in the day, we decided to make some reparations; I would speak to the offensive little creature in an attempt to forge a draconic link between us, and unite us against the smug Shaz who had insulted us. We knew that we would be inside the crypt at approximately the same time, and it would be advisable to have some kind of ally once we were down there. Armed with a handful of gold pieces, and choosing my words carefully, I was able to flatter the leading kobold enough to establish a shaky allegiance - ostensibly for the good of our shared dragon ancestors, but in actuality I wanted to make sure we would not immediately come to blows should we cross each other in the morrow.

There were several more interesting discoveries that day. It came to be known that all who had received Mystra's dream-vision had become the owners of gem-like objects called 'dream-stones', each of them possessing a power unique to the owner and usable by the owner alone. Through the means of our sometimes-painful research, we were able to establish that Cheshire's was linked to her beautiful voice; Coinache's gained power whenever he indulged in a game of chance, especially when he won; and mine seemed to feed off blood when attached to the pommel or hilt of a weapon, only to give life back to me in return. I do not doubt for a second that these items will prove themselves invaluable over the coming seasons. (Umayatin's dream-stone took him longer to decipher, but all shall become clear in time.)

Having told of these incidents between the participants, it is perhaps not surprising that we chose to set a watch that night. We needed to ensure that we would be rested, and at full strength, for the trial the following day.


End file.
